Spirit of the Flame
by Eryn Goddess of Chaos
Summary: A tale about a 14 year old who gets kidnapped by the Organization and is needed for some new plot of theirs. What could it be? Hmmm... AxelxOc much later.
1. Kidnappings and Powers

_Edited_: I've added a couple things, nothing major that will affect my other chapters, but I also wanted to correct some icky spelling and grammar mistakes that I've noticed.

Eryn: After finally getting the inspiration to write, and the time with all the projects and essays piling higher and higher, I finally got to working on my new fanfic, originating from my one-shot The Spark That Started the Fire. You do not have to read the one-shot to understand what is happening here, but it'd be nice if you did. You yourselves will get a little sneak peek into what will come. Some things may be change, but that usually happens. So, I hope you enjoy what I've cooked up for you and I hope you haven't been too impatient for it. Enjoy, my wonderful readers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Wish I did, but I don't. If I did, Axel would belong to Rilo and Riku would be miiiine. –Ish a Riku fangirl and proud of it.- Teehee.

* * *

I took a long swig of my Pepsi as I looked through the archives for Kingdom Hearts fanfiction, occasionally scrolling down when I found nothing interesting and saved the ones that did in my favorites. It was yet another boring Saturday, and, with nothing to do, I settled on a healthy dose of fanfiction since I haven't read any for a while because of homework and other school stuff that I'd had to do.

What I failed to notice, however, was a portal that appeared out of nowhere, black swirls of darkness flitting about inside of it. Out of the portal came a tall figure, cloaked in black, hood up with their face in shadow, completely masking their identity. Like I'd know who it was anyway.

While I concentrated on my laptop screen, the hooded figure emerged out of the portal and tried to get their bearings in my immensely messy room. The figure nearly tripped over a blue shirt, a large dark blue butterfly covering one side of it, carelessly tossed to the side. He cursed under his breath and shook the shirt off of his leg.

What the person failed to notice, backing away, was that I had other clothes tossed aimlessly around the room, and ended up tripping and falling to the floor, yelping in pain, causing such a loud noise that I turned around in meek surprise, Pepsi at my lips. My eyes widened when I recognized the cloak. I promptly sputtered out the pop that was in my mouth and muttered in surprise. "Organization…XIII?" That's impossible! They don't exist! That actually goes both ways, since Nobodies aren't supposed to exist anyway, but enough with the specifics.

When the figure stood up, I took notice that it was male, as most of the Organization was anyway, with the exception of Larxene and the newly found XIV. The hood fell away, revealing the figure to be none other than number VIII. Axel, Flurry of the Dancing Flames. The one and only Nobody who I crushed on so badly that I knew his lines by heart after playing the games so many times. I knew everything backward and forward, every scene, every line, and every enemy he faced. But, I've only played second game about 100 times so it's a no wonder that I know everything about it.

I always took pity on the Nobodies. They had no hearts, thus, they couldn't feel human emotions. Except anger. That seemed to be the only emotion a Nobody _could_ feel. Otherwise, they were empty shells. I've always told myself that they don't deserve the fate they've been given, and yet there was nothing I could ever do for them. They weren't real in my world, until now.

Apparently I had spaced out in the real world because Axel was snapping his fingers in front of my nose. I crossed my eyes to stare at his fingers then looked up at him from the tops of my eyes. "Yes?"

He sighed in exasperation. "I said, you're coming with me. The Superior has use of you. Therefore, he wants you."

Unfortunately for me, I had a very dirty mind, courtesy of many of my friends who would constantly be making dirty jokes, especially at Axel, much to my dismay. I'll give you an example, "Axel says Rilo's name a lot." What brought on that conversation was the fact that my friend was creating for me a one-shot with Axel and somehow, that phrase was mentioned. So, with that said, my mind went immediately in the wrong direction.

"Ew." I said. His eye twitched.

"I didn't mean it like that, you dirty minded freak," he responded indignantly.

"Suuure. That's what they all say," I grinned. "Anywho, why does your Superior need me?" I have a right to know! If some hearts obsessed freak needs me, then I need to have some questions answered before I decide to join up with this band of loonies before my sanity becomes lost for all eternity. I still haven't quite bought the whole Axel showing up in my room bit yet. Then again…the floating portal doesn't help matters much. Hey I'm still in denial! Give me a break! It's hard to believe a _game_ character comes into your room and says that they need you, don't ya think? Yeah. That's what I thought.

"Unfortunately for you, that information is classified. Now, come with me," he said and grabbed my hand then began pulling me towards the swirling portal of darkness.

"Wait a minute!" I shouted. He stared at me, expecting an answer to my outburst, wanting to know what to wait for.

"I need my Pepsi," I said innocently.

He stared at me as if I grew horns then rolled his eyes and dragged me away. I shouted in despair. "Noooo! I need my caffeine! I need it or I'll explode. That happens to me sometimes…" I said, stealing a line from Invader Zim. Hehe, I love that cartoon. Especially Gir. I love Gir. Axel merely rolled his eyes again and pushed me into the swirling mass of darkness.

A bright swirl of colors blinded me as I was pushed into the portal. Axel had grabbed my hand as soon as I entered it so I wouldn't be tossed away into the dark abyss that was the portal. It had a strong pulling sensation on my body and I would've been whisked away and separated from Axel in an instant if it were not for his strong grip on my hand.

Then when I thought I couldn't get any dizzier, a bright light appeared and the portal opened up to reveal the interior of the white castle of Castle Oblivion. Axel half dragged me out of the dark, swirling mass and I keeled over beside him, about ready to puke my lungs out. I murmured angrily next to Axel. "You could've warned me." My face felt pale and my vision swam before my eyes making me even dizzier. I felt light headed and extremely sick and all I wanted at that moment was some Ginger Ale. That usually helped with queasiness for me.

His only response was to smirk and he let go of my hand. When I felt well enough to stand without falling back on my ass in dizziness, I got up slowly and carefully placed a hand on my pale face. "Feeling better?" he mocked.

I glared. "Oh shut up you stupid pyro. Why don't you go play with Demyx's water clones?"

He winced visibly at that remark when the Superior strolled into the main room with his lackey, Saix, following behind him. "Welcome to the Organization," Xemnas said with an air of authority. "Do you know why you are here?" he asked in a commanding like tone.

I gave him a blank stare. "Because I'm just awesome like that?" I said a teeny bit hopefully.

"No. You are here, because you have a certain power that we need," he explained with a smirk. I don't know what you're smirking about, old man, but it can't be anything good.

"Power? Like what? Can I shoot lightning from my finger tips? Or see into people's minds? That kind of power?" I asked excitedly, stars shining in my eyes. I thought in my mind the different scenarios of using those types of powers. Shooting lightning wasn't exactly original, especially since Larxene sorta had that power already, but hey! I can dream right?

"No. The power you possess is beyond those petty little parlor tricks. What you can do…is not to be revealed to you until I see fit. You will commence your training in one week, after you've gotten comfortable. Again, I welcome you to the Organization. You are now, shall I put it, one of us," he said with open arms, an evil smirk playing on his lips. Sometimes I wonder if he _likes _to hear himself talk.

"Cool, do I get paid?"

"No…"

"Then screw you. I'm not joining unless I get paid. So nyah!" I stuck out my tongue childishly.

"I believe that you don't have a choice, missy," chided Axel. Wow he hadn't spoken in a while. I stared at him with a look that clearly stated "You have got to be kidding."

"I am afraid that he's right, Rilo. You have no choice in this matter," said Mansex. I gaped at him in shock.

"But, wait a minute! What about my parents? My friends? They'll notice I'm gone, ya know. They're not stupid," I pointed out.

Xemnas waved his hand. "Taken care of. Every human in contact with you has had their minds erased of their memories of you. So, technically, you no longer exist, nor do any of your possessions which have been moved to your new room."

"B-but but but! Wait…new room? You mean I don't have to share one with someone?" I asked in awe. For as long as I could remember, I've had to share my room with my older sister who kept my room as dirty as possible, one reason I had so many clothes on the floor.

"Of course. Why would you think we'd allow our guest to share a room?" Saix spoke quietly. I'm a guest, huh? Then why am I being held against my will?

"Gasp! The moon man speaks! Saix, is it true you dance in the moonlight?" I asked him with a wide grin on my face and vaguely hoped in the back of my mind that he wouldn't go berserk. Though, with all the trouble Xemnas went through to get me, I doubt he'd allow Saix to harm me in any way so I was safe. For the time being..

"…..Maybe." Axel gaped at Saix then snickered behind his hand. Xemnas coughed and I returned my attention to him, though I had a broad smile on my face.

"Axel, it will be your job to take Rilo to her new room. Some clothes will be provided for her, as well as the ones she originally had. After that, she will be in your charge from now on. Which means waking her, showing her around Castle Oblivion, guiding her to the kitchen, making sure she doesn't get killed, introducing her to the other Organization members…" he counted on his fingers.

Axel stared then immediately began to protest. "Why do _I_ have to watch over the brat? She'll be nothing but a pest!"

"Gasp! How dare you, you evil fiend! Calling me a pest, shame shame Axel," I mocked, pretending to be hurt by his words. I was having too much fun with them all to really take this seriously. Who would?

He rolled his eyes. "See? I can barely stand her and her constant sarcasm," he grumbled. Sarcasm was practically my second language. I just hoped being here wouldn't deplete me of even more of my sanity. I had little enough as it is and this entire thing still felt like a dream to me. Well, if it _was_ a dream, I planned to have as much fun as possible before waking up. I wasn't about to let this all go to waste. There was so much I wanted to do and say to the Organization members. I figured it'd be fun.

"You'll have to deal with it Number VIII," snapped Saix. "Now take her to her room."

Axel sighed loudly and grabbed my hand again. "C'mon, princess. I have to show you to your room," he said unhappily and began dragging me up the stairs.

"I _can_ walk ya know. You don't have to pull me," I responded irritatedly.

"If I do that, you'll be left behind."

We walked up several staircases and by the 5th one, I was dead on my feet to the point of collapsing and began to pant. "Axel," I moaned. "How many more staircases do we have to go up?"

"Let's see…" He counted on his fingers absentmindedly and held up 6 fingers. I collapsed beside him and allowed my face to cool on the tiled, white floor.

"Oh come on, they're not that bad," he said.

I glared from my spot on the ground and sat up slowly. "Yeah for you. I wasn't exactly on track or anything because I have practically no muscles in my legs. You think I'm going to go up 6 more stair cases when I can barely handle the 5 we just did? I don't think so. Isn't there a faster way?"

He sighed. "You'll just get sick again," he warned.

"I can handle being sick. That," I pointed to the next set of stairs, grimacing, "I can not handle."

He mumbled, "Your funeral." He waved his hand in a circular motion and the dark portal appeared. We both stepped into it and Axel, like last time, immediately took hold of my hand. This time, the journey was much shorter so it didn't take too long to get to my room. Neither did I get really dizzy which was a major plus for me.

When we arrived in my room, I gasped, yet again, at the sheer size of it. Picture the size of a standard living room in a normal house. That was how big it was. Well, it was a castle so I shouldn't expect anything less, but it still amazed me. The bonus was that all my stuff was in the exact order I left it in my room, minus the clothing on the floor.

"Wow…" I whispered in awe.

"Big, huh?" Axel smirked. All I could do was nod, I was so in shock. I looked at my bed and nearly squealed when I found it was a California King. A gigantic bed, all for me. And even my laptop sat in the corner of the room, sitting on top of a small, wooden desk with a pretty black lamp with purple swirls on it next to my silver colored computer. The walls were a light blue, painted with intricate designs and swirls in various dark shades of silver, green, and purple. Even the ceiling was painted, but it was all a solid purple with dark swirls. The carpet was a pale brown and felt soft under my feet compared to the rough carpet I had back home.

I turned to look at Axel and pure happiness shown brightly on my face. I'd never had anything so big, so beautiful and expensive before. With a smile, Axel leaned against the colorful wall, which I absolutely loved. Those were all my favorite colors. I was never much for the bright, showy colors, but the soft, soothing ones that didn't hurt your eyes to look at.

All in all, I loved my room. It was much better than the one I'd had on Earth. Maybe this really isn't a dream. If it is, I hope I never wake up. I think I could possibly live here after all.

Or so I thought. Boy, did I not know what I was getting myself into, but even if I did, would I do this over again? Looking around me, I nodded as confirmation to my own question. There was no doubt in my mind that I'd do this over again. No matter what sort of trouble I got myself into, I would never regret my decision.

* * *

Eryn: Well, for my first Kingdom Hearts fanfic, I'd say that wasn't too bad. I've definitely improved description. XD Heh. Well hope you enjoyed it as much I did writing it up for you guys. Until the next time! D Oh. And don't forget to review please. Reviews are greatly appreciated.


	2. Scary Dreams and Food Fights

* * *

Eryn Goddess of Chaos: Hello again! I'm quite happy that you all are enjoying my story so far. I decided to type up my second chapter out of pure boredom and because of the fact that I have so much in store for it, having a few guidelines laid out, courtesy of my one-shot. Hah. The last chapter was created out of so many inside jokes. Oh yeah, the Captain Firehead thing was not my idea. The _real_ Rilo came up with that one. x) I'll post a picture of what he looks like in that hero costume if you guys would like me to. It'll be on my profile.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. If I did I'd be one very happy girl. And, as a favor to a friend, I'd give Sora to her. :)

* * *

That night, I had the oddest dream anyone could ever have. I was standing on a cliff that overlooked the ocean, palm trees dotted along the cliff here and there. The crystal blue ocean gently lapped against the cliff face, occasionally spraying me with salt water. A light breeze whipped through my short, deep red hair, chocolate eyes widening. I was home, home in Hawaii as if I'd never left. Now, of course, I didn't realize this was a dream because usually, something strange and unusual happens like watching someone get swallowed by a bull dog. That kind of strange.

"Hey! You!" a familiar voice called. I turned around slowly and spotted the Keyblade trio as I've been known to call them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Sora summoned his keyblade which shimmered into his hand and he took a fighting stance, eyeing me warily. I was about to question his actions when I looked down at my right hand. It was glowing a deep, menacing purple, the colors swirling around my hand forming some type of glowing ball.

That was when I heard the voices.

_Kill him. Kill him. Kill the Keyblade bearer. Kill the Keyblade bearer. _My eyes widened in horror and I took a step back from the trio as if that might protect them from the disembodied voice echoing in my head.

It became louder and much fiercer when I disobeyed its command.

_KILL HIM. KILL HIM. KILL THE KEYBLADE BEARER. KILL THE KEYBLADE BEARER. _

My hands shot to my head and I scrunched my eyes, whispering, "No. No. I won't. I refuse."

The voice repeated over and over again until it was almost painful, the darkness that surrounded my right hand becoming more prominent than ever until, of its own accord, it lifted itself from my head and pointed at Sora who didn't know what to make of my actions. I didn't know what my hand could do, but nothing good would come of it, of that I was certain.

"Run Sora!" I shouted in desperate fear should he be harmed. Apparently he took my words to heart because he took off, but not fast enough. My hand vibrated and a single point of violet light focused at my forefinger, my hand in a position similar to that of Yusuke when shooting his Spirit Gun. I realized too late what was happening, despite having absolutely no control over my hand anyway.

The beam shot angrily towards Sora, who barely had time to turn around and stare at it in fear before it hit him, square in the back. He fell to the ground, his Keyblade shimmering out of his hand.

I knew I killed him. Whatever that beam in my hand was, it killed him. That was when I screamed…

I woke up covered in sweat, the sheets wrapped tightly around my legs making it impossible to move. Pulling at the sheets to release my trapped legs, I tried my hardest to calm my heart, which was beating rapidly. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, I told myself. After a few minutes, and making my head slightly dizzy, I calmed my beating heart and relaxed then mulled over my dream.

What could it mean? I've never had anything as strange as _that_ happen in any of my dreams. The strangest dream I had was where I was running away from Freddy Krueger when all of a sudden he turned into an ugly, black haired girl then hugged me. Hah. I told my friend that dream and she said I had mental issues. That's probably true.

I sighed, trying to get my thoughts in order and not stray my focus away from my dream. This was something I didn't want to forget. I felt that it might have some sort of significance to me later on, so I tried to remember everything in the dream, only for it to slip away. I grasped what I could and locked it away in my head. The only part that stood out clear as day was the fact that I killed Sora. I shuddered in horror and decided to go back to sleep, despite how impossible it was to tell what time it was.

I settled with the sleeping idea and curled up in my warm, fluffy mattress the Organization provided for me and went back to sleep.

It felt like I'd been asleep for only 15 minutes when I heard _his_ loud and obnoxious voice come in to wake me up from my deep slumber. "Wakey, wakey, Rilo! Time to get your lazy ass up and get some breakfast," Axel practically shouted in my ear, his tone quite cheerful compared to how he was acting yesterday. What was _he_ so chipper about? I thought irritatedly.

He poked my side, I knew, just to be annoying. I groaned and rolled over, shoving the pillow on top of my head in a "Go away I wanna sleep" type manner. Either Axel didn't get the hint or he was just dead set on annoying me today. "Rilo, get your ass up!" He grabbed the pillow, hit me in the head with it, then wouldn't budge, he took my covers away from me!

The cold air hit my body in a chilling gust and I curled up to keep the warmth from escaping my body. Deciding to give in, I blinked an eye open. "What?" I snapped in irritation. I am not a morning person. Just thought I'd make that clear before moving on.

"Well good morning to you, too miss Sunshine," he replied sarcastically. I just groaned in response and took whatever pillow that was nearby and shoved it on top of my head so I wouldn't have to see his face, and possibly not hear him either. That'd just be an added bonus. It's funny how he was my favorite character in the world, but when I came here, he became the most annoying character in the world and now it's sort of hard to even respect him anymore. Funny ol' world isn't it?

"Whot time izzit?" I tried to say, the sleepiness still in effect over my speech.

"6 a.m!" He replied cheerfully. I twitched and immediately sat up to glare at him with utmost loathing.

"You wake me up at 6 a.m. in the morning and expect me to be HAPPY ABOUT IT?!" I shouted. My voice sounded scary, even to me. Then again, who ever decides to waltz into my room and wake me up at 6 in the morning deserves to _burn_. No pun intended.

Axel visibly winced and backed away, his open palms facing my direction. "Isn't this the time you wake up?" he asked feebly. It was almost as if a light bulb flashed over his head the way his expression changed so quickly. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper and read over it quickly. "Oh!" he said. "I guess I read it wrong. It said to wake you up at _9_ not 6. Hehe. Read the number wrong…" he said feebly.

I gritted my teeth and tried my hardest not to scream in fury. I breathed through my nose rather harshly and I guess my self control was apparent to Axel because he stared at me wide eyed and was pretty much about to bolt out the door, when Demyx came into my room and rushed up to give me a tight hug.

My mouth gaped open in shock at Demyx who, in my opinion, is absolutely the most awesome Organization member of all time. Even better than Axel, now, I added. I practically squealed in happiness and hugged him back with as much gusto. He pulled back and stared at me happily. "Welcome to the Organization, Rilo!" he said happily, a large grin pulling at his lips.

Seeing him smile, it was almost impossible for me not to. My shocked look turned into one of complete and utter happiness at seeing my most favorited character ever. "Thank you!" I said just as happily.

Axel just stood in the background, gaping at me in shock at how fast my moods changed. My head swiveled to look at Axel. "What?" I asked. He shook his head and just walked out of the room. I then turned to look at Demyx who was still smiling. I smiled back just as happily. "Demyx? Do you mind leaving my room? I need to change into some more...appropriate clothes," I said sheepishly.

"No problem," he said and walked out of my room after giving me another one of his dazzling smiles that just made me want to smile in return. To me, Demyx was one of those really likeable characters, the type that you can become friends with in an instant. I already felt he was my friend and, it seemed, he felt the same way. That made me extremely happy.

On that note, I proceeded to get dressed in some of my own clothes. I had yet to see the clothes Xemnas had gotten me and almost feared to see what exactly he'd gotten me. I shook my head to rid myself of the thought and grabbed a pair of dark blue capris and a small, sandy colored shirt.

Thankfully, Xemnas had bothered to set all of my bathroom supplies in _my_ bathroom. I was still happy about the whole deal. It was a really large one, too. The floor was covered in white tile with a purple swirl in the middle of each one. The swirl reminded me of my dream but I shied away from that as soon as I thought of it. It had two sinks, each with a bar of soap next to it and my hair stuff sat scattered around the sinks in a neat order. My blow dryer was already plugged in and my brush sat next to it.

I reached out to grab my brush and dragged it through the nightly tangles I received after sleeping. Thankfully I don't have a really bad case of bed hair which made it easier to comb through. Having it short also helps.

While brushing my hair through, I turned around to look at the bathroom a little bit. It was so…extravagant. Like it was built for a king instead of a 14 year old Kingdom Hearts obsessed teenage girl. The bathtub looked more like a small pool than anything and along the sides were a different assort of faucets that produced practically anything you wanted it to. I was suddenly reminded of the bathroom in Harry Potter and grinned to myself. It was almost the exact copy.

The Organization really outdid themselves, unless they're just trying to suck up to me for having to take me away from my home world then tell me I can never go back as who I was before. That thought depressed me for a second. I'd miss my friends. I just hoped I'd have other friends here besides the Nobodies. Maybe they'll pick up another unfortunate soul just like me, with some unknown power they seem to seek, and I can hang out with them. I brightened at the thought and walked out of the bathroom to greet Axel who was waiting for me.

"C'mon, princess. Let's take you to get something to eat and meet the rest of the Organization members," Axel said and grabbed my hand for the umpteenth time since I met him.

"Why do you always call me princess? It's irritating," I said. "You _can_ call me by my name."

"You act like a princess to me. Bratty and annoying," Axel smirked. I huffed.

"Just you wait, Captain Firehead, I'll get you back for that one day," I smirked. Axel quirked an eyebrow.

"Captain Firehead…?"

I nodded. "Yes." This was an inside joke between me and one of my friends. Back home, I'd drawn a picture of Axel wearing a hero suit and a black mask over his eyes while doing this rock star type move and holding onto one of his chakrams. I think it might still be in my sketch book, all nice and neatly colored. It was one of the funniest drawings I ever drew. I am quite proud of it and laugh whenever I lay my eyes on it. I should show it to Axel sometime see what he thinks. Hehe…

He eyed me like I was a freak with two noses and long, hairy beard then shrugged and created one of those portal things that I hated so much.

After going through the portal a few times, I didn't feel so dizzy anymore. I guess I got used to it. I just wish I could conjure up one of those things. They're very nifty especially in a place like Castle Oblivion when there's like over 20 floors, which includes the basement ones. It'd take me an entire year to explore everything.

When we arrived in the dining area, everyone looked up to see me, and I mean _everyone_. Luxord, Zexion, Marluxia, Larxene, Demyx, Vexen, Xigbar, and Xaldin all stared at me. Only Saix and Xemnas were missing. I guessed that Lexaeus was dead or on some sort of mission. I didn't quite know much about him except that he was a muscle man from looking at the pictures and seeing that heavy weapon he seems to be carrying around.

I looked around the room nervously and rubbed my left arm. Demyx waved over to me to go sit down with him. I happily obliged and walked over to him, taking a seat beside him. All eyes were still on me. The atmosphere seemed tense and calculating, like I was some kind of experiment. "So…what's for breakfast?" I asked timidly.

"Pancakes!" Demyx cried happily. Everyone returned to eating their own breakfast, but it still felt like they were watching me when I wasn't looking. I sighed and got up to get myself some. There was a large stack of pancakes sitting on the kitchen counter with a bottle of syrup right beside it. A set of plates were set off to the side along with forks and knives, though why anyone would use knives for pancakes I could never guess. I had no trouble cutting them with a fork.

I poured syrup on my pancake and was about to return to the table, when I tripped…The syrup and pancakes covered Axel who was the unfortunate one to stand near me. A pancake was stuck to his face while others slowly slipped off his Organization cloak. The pancake on his face slowly slid off to reveal a very sticky and unhappy red head.

His expression was so hilarious I couldn't help but laugh. The atmosphere immediately became lighter when everyone stared at Axel in amusement. Luxord's laughter boomed through the dining area and Larxene had trouble keeping a straight face. Zexion just smirked while Demyx laughed at Axel's unfortunate circumstance.

Me? I was on the floor pounding my fist on the white tile beneath me, tears of mirth running down my cheeks. I hid my face in the floor which muffled my laughter somewhat. Axel growled behind me which only caused me to laugh even harder to the point where it was hard to breath.

Suddenly I felt something cold down my back. Cold and sticky. Syrup. I got up slowly and pointed a finger at Axel. "You do know that _this_ means _war_," I smirked.

"FOOD FIGHT!" Demyx bellowed. Immediately, Marluxia and Zexion ducked out of the fight and they were out the dining room before it even began. Smart move. I grabbed whatever I could, which were, thankfully, a couple of eggs sitting on the counter. Why they were there I'll never know. Just meant more missiles for me to throw. I aimed one at Axel's head and hit him straight in the face.

I felt eggs pelt me as well and I shrieked in surprise to see Demyx behind me. I grinned and threw another egg, this time at Demyx who was squirted with ketchup by Larxene. I looked at Larxene and nodded towards Axel. She got what I meant. We both grinned and snuck up on him. I grabbed a mustard bottle before hand and we both got him in the ears with said sauce. The ketchup got lost in his bright mane of red hair, however the mustard stood out perfectly.

Somehow, someone got a hold of cake and it became a cake fight. I grabbed a glob and threw it at the nearest person next to me which was Xigbar, who was covered in head to toe with ketchup, mustard, eggs, flour, and an assortment of fruits. We were all laughing while throwing the food, despite knowing the mess that we'll have to clean up will be disastrous.

Then good ol' Mansex ruined our fun with his lackey, Saix, right behind him. "What is going on in here?" he commanded. Everyone froze. My hand had been stuffing a glob of cake in Axel's face when he came in. Xemnas glared at me. I put my hand down and shook the cake off my hand then looked away.

"Well?" he demanded an answer. I coughed. He turned to look at me and a blush immediately crept to my face.

"We were having a food fight. What did it look like?" I asked innocently. Apparently that act didn't work since his glare only deepened at me. That was when Demyx saved me.

"Well, see, Rilo accidentally tripped and got pancakes all over Axel. Then he poured syrup down her back and it all exploded into a food fight." He shrugged. "It sure was fun though…" he said as a piece of pancake slid off his head.

Xemnas sniffed and turned to walk away but not before saying, "You will all clean this up and will not leave the area until it is clean to the point where I can see my face. Is that clear?" he growled.

"Yes," we all said in monotone. As soon as he walked away, Xigbar complained.

"Maaaan. Why did the Superior have to ruin our fun?" he said with that surfer type accent.

"I know," I groaned. "I was having so much fun." I dejectedly kicked a piece of cake on the ground. We all sighed in unison at the major chore of cleaning the kitchen and the dining room.

"Well, at least we won't have to do this alone," Demyx said, looking at the brighter side of things. I nodded.

"Yeah. It's easier when there's more people and it will get done quicker."

"I guess..." Larxene replied.

4 hours later

"Ugh, my hand hurts from scrubbing so much," I said exhaustedly. The kitchen was finally clean. And so was the dining room, too.

"Now we can get changed, I need to take a shower," Larxene said, syrup stuck to her hair. At least it was short so it wouldn't be too hard for her to clean it. We struck up a good friendship while cleaning. It was nice to have another female to talk to.

Everyone else left but Axel, Demyx, Larxene, and me of course. They all left during cleaning which left the rest to the 4 of us. Stupid traitors. The other Organization members didn't seem to mind it too much, either that or they were just hiding their irritation.

"At least everything's clean again," Axel grumbled. "Next time, don't trip and get your food all over me, please."

"Will do. I'd rather not have another episode of _this_," I grimaced. Everyone else winced but gained an amused expression when they thought of the food fight. "Ah, that was fun though," I sighed happily. Food fights were always fun. That was my first one, even if it was short and I'll never forget it for as long as I shall live. There's something to tell my grandkids. I got to have a food fight with a bunch of video game characters.

If my morning went this well, I wonder how bad it'll be in the afternoon. Speaking of which, what time is it anyway…

I stared at the microwave they had and the glowing green numbers read 2:30. Wow. I woke up at 6 and it's already that late? Where the heck did the time go?! Well, it took me a while to wake up and get ready, with all the thinking I've been doing since this morning it probably took me longer than usual to get ready. I think I got down there at about 9, sat down in the immensely awkward silence for maybe half an hour. Had a food fight which maybe lasted another half an hour…We cleaned for 4 hours. Well, I guess it'd make sense. I still can't believe I spent 3 hours pondering over my dream. No wonder Axel looked so impatient earlier.

I sighed. "Axel, materialize one of those portal thingies for me please. I need to get to my room."

Axel looked over at me. "Your room is only a two floors above this. The door has a purple swirl on it. You should be able to figure out where it is."

I stared in surprise. "Really? I thought it'd be like 11 like it was last time when I was in the main hall…" I trailed off. He shook his head.

"No. The kitchen is close to where our rooms are. You're the lucky one not to have to share a hallway with anyone…Superior must really be trying to suck up to you."

"I kinda assumed he was. Well at least it's not too far." I walked out of the kitchen and down a narrow hallway. At the end was a short stair case, unlike the ones I'd had to go up yesterday. My legs still ached even thinking about it.

After going up the second staircase, I noticed the purple swirl on my door. I wondered if that might've had any significance at all to the dream I had…I'd forgotten to ask Xemnas about it to see if he knew anything. Oh well. I'll ask him later. Right now, I'd like to change out of these clothes.

I found something a little more presentable than what clothes I was wearing which was now covered in food. I only thanked whatever lord there was that I didn't wear my shoes. It would've taken forever to get the food off and out of the inside of them. That goes for my socks as well.

I set my clothes in the bathroom so I could take a nice, long soak in my bathtub. There was also a shower, but I wanted to try out the nice bath and it looked so enticing…

Switching on the right knobs took a while though. They all looked the same. At least I got the water going. Now I'll just smell like perfume. The perfume was relaxing all the same, though. I sighed in content as I slipped deeper into the bath, vaguely wondering if all days at the Organization will be like this. I certainly hoped so. I hoped that whatever the days ahead bring, they will all be as fun as this one had been, minus the cleaning.

* * *

Eryn Goddess of Chaos: Whew. That was long. Hoped you enjoy this nice, long chapter I cooked up for ya. Now, pleeease review!


	3. Explanations and shocking Axel

Eryn Goddess of Chaos: Wow, I'm on a roll. 3rd chapter already. xD I just have so much in store for it all I wanna do is write it!:D Glad you all enjoyed the last chapter. I'm going to try to make this one just as long. I'm sure you're all happy to hear that. :)

Oh yeah. Just a few comments since one of you brought up a really good error. I tend to fix those errors in my writing and give a logical, maybe even lame, depends on how you see it, explanation to that error. So that's what I'm going to do about the whole Castle Oblivion issue. And the time period is sort of wacky, Roxas hasn't come into the Organization yet but he will, eventually. Ugh. This makes me reaaally want to play the game Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Dx I'd like to know a bit more about Roxas' background but all I know about him is what came out in KH II. X.x Ugh. Guess I'll have to wing it then.

Now for some review responses!:D

ILoveRedHairYo: Lawl. XD Thank you Rilo. Haha. I can see that happening too. Well, pretty much all I said to you was said else where. XD But thanks for enjoying it.

jcola0823: Thank you!:D I'll end up posting a picture of that, too on my profile so you all can see it.:) Rilo is a wonderful artist and all credit of that drawing goes to her.

Trigga Happy Saiyanayo: Lol. I'm sure Marly got hit in the head with some bacon. Food was flying _everywhere_ after all. And you got to have a food fight? No fair. D: I'd like to have one. I've never been in one at all. It sounds so much fun though. And thank you! It's funny mostly because of random conversations I have with Rilo about the Kingdom Hearts characters and then all of a sudden I'll say, "I should put that in my fic!" XD She gives me good suggestions.

Negative Cloud: I thank you for pointing out the heinous errors that have occurred in my fanfic and now I will give a somewhat full explanation as to why they are in Castle Oblivion rather than the Castle That Never Was. And as I said earlier, this is a sort of weird time period where Roxas has yet to join the Organization yet, but he is alive. Somewhere…He just hasn't been found yet? I have no idea. XD But he'll be entering the story somewhere along the way, so no worries.

Now, without further adieu, let the chappie begin! :D

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own Kingdom Hearts. I'd be very happy if I did, but I don't. Some of the dialogue doesn't belong to me either. I stole an idea from a Deviant picture I saw and had to clip it in. xD I couldn't help myself. It was too funny for words..

* * *

After taking that nice, long, relaxing soak in my wonderful bathtub, I climbed out of it, careful not to slip on any water that ended up on the tile. I really _was_ like a pool…I could literally swim in it! I'm not joking. I'd never had a bath so relaxing like that before. It felt like heaven…

I dried myself off with a white towel with a purple swirl. Again, what is with the purple swirls?! It's driving me crazy! I'm going to end up asking Xemnas about this later when I get the chance to. I wonder…what time is it?

There was a clock sitting conveniently placed on the far end of the sink so water wouldn't splash all over it. The glowing red numbers read 3:30 pm. Wow. I'd been in the bath for that long? Well, I guess you can't blame me. It _was_ relaxing, the best thing to ever happen to me. I closed my eyes and smothered my head with the towel then proceeded to rub it fiercely on my head to get all the water out of it. Once I felt it was dry enough, I stopped and threw the towel on the floor, only for it to disappear in a small, black portal of darkness…

What. The. Hell. Was my entire bathroom, and room, programmed to get rid of any dirty articles of clothing? How convenient. At least I won't have to make multiple trips to the laundry room that was 3 floors below. I know this because Axel told me while we were cleaning. I wanted to know the layout of the castle, where everything was. Some rooms were still a mystery, however. Not even Axel knew what some of them held, or, if he did, he didn't want to tell me. Curse him.

Ah well. I'll end up exploring it soon enough anyway. With that thought, I walked into my room and rummaged through the drawers for clothes to wear and ended up wearing a clean pair of jean shorts and a green shirt. I really loved green. Hm. That little dark portal thingie gave me an idea..

"Give me a piece of chocolate!" I shouted out to the room. And, much to my surprise and joy, it worked. Out of a small, black hole in the ground, a chocolate bar appeared and began floating over said hole. It hovered at least 4 feet in the air. I stared at it in amazement. My eyes practically bugged out of my sockets and, if it could, my jaw would've hit the floor. My room was at my command. How awesome is _this_?! I wonder if I could get some heavy artillery out of this too…Xemnas was really out to impress me. Why? I still have no idea, but right now, it doesn't matter. I can get practically anything I want! Whoo!!

I cried out in happiness and took the chocolate bar. The portal of darkness receded when it was no longer needed. I peeled off the wrapper in haste then took a huge, but happy, bite out of my precious chocolate. Now I really did feel like I was in heaven. I was in my glory. I had everything I needed right here in my room. The only thing I _didn't _have was human company. Well, I guess now it'd be considered Nobody company.

I turned my head when I heard a knock at my door. "Come in!" I called. The door opened to reveal Axel in all his glory, now in a cleaner Organization cloak. "What's up?" I asked.

"I see you figured out how to work your room," he replied, amused.

"Damn straight I did. Check this out!" I pointed at my half eaten chocolate bar. "I got me some chocolate," I said with a goofy grin on my face. He chuckled.

"I can see that. Your room only gives you snack foods, so if you want a real meal, you'll have to go down to the kitchen to do that," he informed me.

"I kinda figured. It's no loss. I need the company anyway. I can't keep myself locked in my room forever. Oh yeah. This is sort of a random question, but why are we here in Castle Oblivion?" I inquired.

"Hm? Oh. I'd forgotten you knew so much about us. Anyway, we're here because it was just easier to get to your world and check up on you. You see, we Nobodies may be able to conjure portals to take us to any world in the universe, but it does take its toll on our bodies when that particular world is very far away, like yours. It's completed isolated from the other worlds and in a very hard to reach place. The Castle That Never Was was convenient because it was easier to reach other worlds we needed access to. For the moment, we no longer need that access, but we'll eventually end up going back once this castle isn't needed," he explained.

"So then, Marluxia and a few of you guys are going to end up staying behind to look after the castle?"

"Something like that. I don't think you'll move though, just over half of the Organization will. Zexion, Larxene, Lexaeus, Marluxia, Vexen, and I will be staying behind."

"Aw. So I won't be able to see Demyx anymore?" I nearly cried. Demyx was like my new best buddy! I couldn't be separated from my ray of sunshine! Which is pretty much what he's like to me. My own personal sun that keeps me cheerful and sane in this loony castle.

He scratched his head in thought. "Well…I could probably convince him to stay. Though you'd convince him better than I would. He seems to really like you."

That made me happy. "Well, duh. He's my friend, now. 'Course he's gonna like me," I responded.

"I honestly don't know why. You're nothing but a brat…" muttered Axel. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Bite me," I remarked. Axel suddenly gained a devilish look. Holy shit, that look almost had me drooling. He may be a complete asshole half the time, but that doesn't mean he's not hott. Unfortunately for me, my hormones sidetracked me and I suddenly found myself on the ground with Axel on top of me.

I grunted and tried to kick him off me by getting my knee under his stomach. "Get your fat ass off me. You're heavy." His smirk only grew wider. Wanna know what happened next? HE BIT ME! THAT MOTHER BIT ME!

I yelped in surprise. "GET OFF ME!" I yelled. His teeth were still clamped into my skin when Demyx suddenly decided to enter my room. Oh for the love of Christ. I can only imagine what will happen next.

"Rilo I--" He was cut off at the site of Axel lying on top of me, biting the joint between the neck and shoulder. He froze and his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets in shock. I think we scarred the poor guy. My pissed off expression should've given him a clue, but was he paying attention to that? Noooo. Ugh. I hate you Axel. HATE!

"I-I'll just b-be leaving now," he stammered and slammed the door behind him in his haste to get out of my room. I nearly screamed in frustration. Dammit Demyx, it's not what it looks like!!

"Axel?" I said sweetly. "Will you kindly STOP BITING ME AND GET THE HELL OFF!!" I shrieked.

He sat up and held his ears, wincing at the volume. "Ok, ok, you stupid banshee. Heh. The look on Demyx's face was priceless," he said amused.

I only cursed him. "Yeah, for you. It was because of _you_ that he got the wrong idea! Do you know what will happen if he blabs that to anyone? Think of the humiliation! The wise cracks! All the jokes that will be made BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T GET OFF ME WHEN I TOLD YOU TO!!" I moaned and buried my head in my hands.

He just stared at me. "Oh come on it's not that…." He suddenly got an idea of what I meant. I dunno what went through his mind, but his expression immediately turned to horror.

"Oh shit." He nearly ran out the door, completely forgetting about his Nobody power to create portals which would've been _much_ faster. "DEMYX! WAIT A MINUTE!" I heard him cry down the hall. I peeked my head out the door and saw a smoke trail resulting from how fast Axel was running.

I nearly whistled when I realize the reason _why_ Axel was running that fast. "RUN LIKE THE WIND AXEL!" I cried out into the hallway.

At this point, I saw Zexion walking down the hall in all his emoness. Though he's not my type, he's really not that bad looking. He looked over in my direction and raised an eyebrow at my previous outburst. I chuckled nervously and ran off in the direction Axel went. "WAIT FOR MEEEEE!!"

Zexion just stared at my running figure then shook his head and went off on his merry little way.

I came to a split in the hallway and looked left and right, puzzled. "Alrighty…which way now?" I did what I usually do during multiple choice tests when I don't know the answer. Eeny meeny miny mo.

I pointed my finger and went through eeny meeny miny mo in my head and came upon the choice of going….LEFT! Alrighty, I'll go left.

So that's the direction I went. I wondered down the hallway for quite a while, passing an occasional door, when my curiosity peaked and I just _had_ to go into one of the doors to see what lay inside it. I completely forgot about looking for Axel, I was still mad at him anyway, and opened the door to one of the rooms.

It was a big, white circular room with matching white columns lined along the walls. In the center, a large blue orb floated in the middle of the room, sparking occasionally. Cautiously, I walked over to the glowing blue orb, tentatively reaching out to touch it. A current of warmth flowed through my finger tips, up my arms and right down to my toes. I shut my eyes as that same current passed through my head, painfully. It was almost like getting a headache, and yet it felt…pleasant? The sparks grew bigger then suddenly, it stopped. The headache then dissipated and left a warm feeling of pleasure.

I opened my eyes and whipped my hand away from the orb as if I'd been bitten and held it against my side. "Ow!" I yelped as my hand shocked me. Lifting it to my face, I saw a faint spark dancing along my finger tips. As an experiment, I pointed my forefinger at the wall and concentrated on that particular finger. A small bolt of blue electricity shot from my finger and hit the wall. I gaped in amazement.

"Cool…" I muttered inaudibly. "So…do I have somewhat weak super powers now or something?" I asked aloud.

"You could say that," a voice replied. I stared around the room and turned around to see Zexion with his arms crossed, a small smirk playing about his lips. Staring at him curiously, I crossed the room and stood in front of him, expecting an explanation. He gave me one. "That orb was an experiment for newer Nobodies. It was supposed to amplify your powers, or, bring them out so we may have use of them. That orb has never been tested on humans; however, we do know that it uses up your life force. The power you just received will drain your life force if you continue to use it. Lucky for you, you already have your own power and that power you have will expel the one you received from your body before it drains your life force. So, no need to worry," he said smirking. All I could do is gape.

"So…this…power drains my life force?" I asked. "Why?"

"Its use was for Nobodies. Nobodies have a different life force than humans because we are only the shells left over. Human life force would be considered to you as your soul. For us, it's different. Nobodies don't exactly have souls, and yet we're alive," he smiled wryly. "Not having a soul is hardly even living. A soul is also like a heart. A heart holds your emotions, your soul holds your very being, what you used to be when you were human."

A sad look passed over my face. "You miss being human, don't you Ienzo?" I said, using his real name. He stared at me, a bit shocked that I'd know his real name, before he became a Nobody, and nodded.

"We all do," he remarked, "but there's nothing we can do. All we can do is gather hearts and use those hearts to make ourselves whole again. Though some of us don't want that, like the Superior. He wants power, that's all," he shook his head and I got the notion that he felt Xemnas was a total idiot for wanting what he did. All villains should know by now that whenever you try to get power, you never succeed. There's always someone in your way, no matter who they are.

"So, that orb thing. How does it work?" I questioned

"Well, it jump starts your powers and amplifies them until your powers grow in and the body has no use of it anymore. There are only a two of us who've used it. Larxene and Demyx. Everyone else who tried died right then and there. The death rate is particularly high, but only for Nobodies it seems. The weaker ones die, and the stronger ones receive more power. Larxene and Demyx aren't particularly strong, but it did help with their powers. They hadn't been able to use them until they touched that orb."

I stared at my hands and suddenly got an evil idea into my head. I could shock Axel with these powers. Maybe not too much since it apparently saps my life force, according to Zexion, but…I could shock him just enough to get back at him for biting me. An evil grin crept over my face. Zexion stared at me warily, as if I was a loose canon just waiting to go off on him. Luckily for him, he wasn't my target so he had nothing to worry about. I don't think I could hurt Zexion anyway; he's too cool for that.

"What are you thinking?" he asked me cautiously. My grin grew wider.

"I just wanna zap Axel a little bit. It's sort of…payback you could say," I said simply.

"For what?"

My face turned red. "Uh…Something he did to me…" I responded vaguely.

"What did he do?" he said, attempting to press the answer out of me. WELL I WASN'T GIVING IT TO HIM! Suddenly, a knowing smirk tugged at his lips.

"NOTHING HAPPENED!" I yelled sharply, my face turning redder than my hair.

"Oh? Is that so? Then why are you being so defensive?" he spoke smugly. He got me there.

"Because it's embarrassing. That's why," I mumbled.

"What's so embarrassing about it?"

"Will you _please_ drop the subject? I really don't want to talk about it…" I whined. He just wasn't giving me a break here! Ugh. Go away Zexy! He seemed to read my mind and shrugged, then left. What an interesting conversation we had. It went from being explanatory, to depressing, to embarrassing all in the time span of about 10 minutes. I sighed and left the room in my quest to find Axel. I still needed to get my revenge on him.

So I set off in search of the red head. A couple of hallways and staircases later, I ended up in some random hallway on god knows what floor. I blinked then groaned. "THIS PLACE IS LIKE A FREAKING _MAZE_!!" I moaned in despair. "Why can't there be a map of this place the one in Harry Potter," I grumbled. A Marauder's map of this place would be perfect, then I could at least locate everyone.

Fortunately, I didn't need one because Axel just happened to be walking down this same hallway. Though, as soon as he saw me, he froze then started backing away slowly. Hehe, he didn't know yet what wrath I could inflict upon him and yet he still fears me. The thought made me grin with glee. This is where the chase began.

I had it all planned out. I'd tackle him from behind them give him a nice little shock on his backside then run like hell back into my room armed with a hose. Well, ok. I don't know where I'd get a hose, but maybe my magic floor will conjure me one! I somehow doubted it though.

But I followed through with my plan. As soon as Axel took off, I followed right after him and I did manage to catch up enough to tackle him. He landed on the tiled ground with a big "Oof!"

"Ow," he groaned, his voice muffled by the ground. I giggled evilly. Yes, I actually giggled. I was giddy with excitement at being able to use powers, even if they _were_ minor ones that took away years of my life. Eh, who cares? What do I have to lose anyway? Nothing. Nothing at all.

I got into a more comfortable position on his back and one finger to his hip then ZAP! His body convulsed in pain for a second or two then he somehow knocked me off his back and ran around screaming in pain. What a baby! It wasn't even that hard. I don't think it was anyway…

I still couldn't help but laugh anyhow. I giggled hysterically for a while until Axel calmed down then _he_ tackled _me_. Ouch.

Yet again, he was on top of me. He began straddling me and stared at me evilly, those eyes of his dancing like the fire he controlled. Green fire is what those eyes looked like. I was hypnotized by them. I couldn't help it. They were too beautiful for me _not_ to look away. I was, unfortunately, trapped by my desire to kill him and my desire to kiss him. I'd never kiss him though, it'd just inflate his ego even more and the Organization doesn't need that. Neither do I for that matter.

A tiny flame alighted itself on his forefinger. I had a vague idea of what he was going to do to me. Wonderful. I'll get a nice little burn on my side. He bent down to whisper into my ear, "I don't know what the hell you did, but I'll be doing the same thing to you."

At that exact moment, want to know who came down the hallway next? Zexion himself. At least know he knows why I wouldn't tell him jack shit. His surprised look changed into one of amusement.

"So, this is why you wouldn't tell me? You were having a love affair with Axel?" he remarked a bit too smug.

I growled in response. "He wants to burn me, not make love to me, Zex."

He twitched at the nickname. Axel's expression turned into a grin. "Ya know…Zex sounds an _awful_ lot like—"

"SHUT UP!" he snapped at the red head. Axel was a bit taken aback, unused to Zexion using that tone of voice, let alone _yelling_ at someone. It was a bit unusual for the dark haired Nobody.

I only snickered. Zexion glared at me and I immediately shut up. No need to have a homicidal Nobody on my case. I already have Axel after me. Speaking of which…

I stuck my finger into his side and zapped him again, lighter this time, to get him off me. It was safe to say it worked. Very well I might add. Then he sat right back down on me again. THE NERVE OF HIM!!

"Ow! Will you stop doing that?!" he yelled then realized something. "How _are_ you doing that, anyway?" he asked me suspiciously as if I somehow got my powers from Larxene. They were practically the same, only weaker than hers were.

"I touched this blue orb thingy and it gave me electrical powers for a while," I responded.

"I'm surprised you didn't die. You're human," he said.

"Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious," I said sarcastically. I stared off in Zexion's direction, then realized he was gone. He never made a sound when he left…

"Hey, Zexion is gone," I pointed out quietly. Axel raised an eyebrow then looked in the direction Zexion had been.

"Hm. He does that all the time. We'll be talking with him and when he's not included in the conversation, he just takes off as if he has something better to do. It's better to just leave him alone."

"He seems so sad though," I noted.

"He's emo," Axel said dryly.

"I didn't mean like that, you nimrod. I meant that he misses being human. I can see it in his eyes. Dark, mysterious, but with a hint of sadness there," I muttered with a far away expression. Of course I wouldn't miss being human, I still am human. But I do miss home. And it doesn't matter if you're a Nobody or if you're human, everyone misses their home, no matter who or what they are.

He scoffed. "You're reading too much into this. But I do agree with one thing. Every one of us misses being human and Zexion is no exception. It's only Xemnas and Saix who'd rather stay they way they were," he said darkly.

I knew the reason why. They're idiots, though, because Sora ends up kicking their asses in the end, but everyone else dies as well…Demyx, Larxene, Zexion, Luxord….and Axel. They all die. The thought suddenly made me depressed. Axel stared at me in concern.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah…I'm fine," I said in a not-so-fine way when it suddenly hit me. Axel was _still_ on top of me. I decided to point that fact out to him. "Uh, yeah. Hi. You're still on top of me. Can you get _off now_?" I said angrily.

He laughed sheepishly. "Hehe…right." Got off me and helped me to my feet.

"Ya know, we need to stop doing this to ourselves. I mean, people will get the wrong idea!" I shouted.

He nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately," he grinned, "it's just too much fun _not_ to." I only groaned in response.

"Lucky me, I get to have an egotistical red head tackling me every day. Fun," I said sarcastically.

He chuckled then wrapped his arm around my waist then whispered almost seductively in my ear, "Aww you know you love me." He grinned. I weaved my way out of his arms and slipped away from him, grinning back.

"You wish."

* * *

Eryn: Whew. That was long. Not as long as I wanted it to be but I had to end it here or my brain would implode. And that wouldn't be a good thing. I'm not quite used to typing up very long chapters. However, I do hope you enjoy it nonetheless. This story just seems to be writing itself. Heh. Well, I bid you all farewell. Until the next chapter which I will try to make equally as long. :)


	4. Fun times in Port Royal

Eryn: Wow. I'm rereading my first chapter for this fic and I didn't realize how many spelling errors my Word spell check decided not to pick up. Ugh, I need a new spell checker. This one sucks and it keeps trying to make my sentences sound weird. It's like it's reading off of some 18th century dictionary/grammar booklet thing. x.x What a pain. I'll eventually be fixing those…when I'm not too lazy. XD Oh yeah, just one thing to eliminate confusion on how to say her name, Rilo's name is said Rai-low. Ok? :) It's ok if you thought it sounded a bit like Reno. A lot of people probably thought that.

Now for some review responses!

ILoveRedHairYo: Thanks Rilo. xD

jcola0823: AxelxOC is one of my favorite pairings too. Honestly, I like most OC pairings because the OCs are new characters that are completely unrelated to any plot in the original story of any anime/game/book. I just like any story with OCs as long as it's good. xD I like seeing a character with a new personality and seeing how the surrounding characters of the original story react to this new character. And thanks for spreading the word about my story! XD I like that. And thanks! I figured I'd let Axel do something a little…unexpected. : I don't think I've ever read a fanfic where Axel bites someone. Lol

Fluffyfafa: For one thing, I like your name. It's cute! And thanks! I'm actually considering pursuing writing as a career, maybe a side one, and I figured this was a good place to get some feedback on my stories and see what I need to improve. And I especially love it when people enjoy my stories. So, thank you!

NegativeCloud: No, it's ok. You brought up a good point, however, missing something isn't exactly an emotion. Even emotionless beings like Nobodies can long to have something, which is why they want to become human, beings with hearts. They long to have hearts like normal humans, though Xemnas just wants to use Kingdom Hearts, for what I forgot actually. I was playing the game not too long ago to refresh my memory on everything. XD Haven't finished it yet. Anyway, thanks for the feedback.

Raven06: Of course! It's impossible NOT to like him. XD Depends on how you see it though. A lot of people hate him for killing Zexion. I always liked Zexion, but I never hated Axel for killing him. He had his own reasons for doing it.

Wow I'm in a talkative mood. Ugh, I'm just so bored and grounding does not help at all. Anywho, let's just get on with the fic now shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

I tossed and turned in my bed trying to block out the noise that crept through the edges of my consciousness. I could vaguely hear...singing? Blearily opening my tired eyes, I sat up to see Axel singing something. Trying to shake the sleepiness out of me, I tried listening to the words of the song and realized what it was he was singing…and dancing! I never noticed how defined his hips were. They're like…huge! But in a good way…I think I have an idea as to why they call him Flurry of the _Dancing_ Flames. Hah.

Oh wow. Hips Don't Lie. Now there's a lol moment for you. Oh how I wish I had my video camera, this is just pure blackmail. Axel smirked at my expression and stopped singing. "Morning, sunshine," he said.

I stared at him blankly then a giant grin spread on my face. "Why were you singing that?" I snickered. He chuckled himself.

"I was listening to some of the music you had on this device you have here. It's great. Wish I had one of these. How can you humans get so much music on something so small?" I just now noticed he had my blue iPod nano in his hand with the white earphones plugged into his ears.

"Where did you find that?" I asked in surprise. Wasn't that over by my computer?

"I found it by your electronic stuff. It's fascinating. You don't see many worlds with this kind of technology," he replied. "The only real world that I know of that has any amount of technological stuff is Space Paranoids. And Earth, too, I guess."

"You know that Port Royal is actually connected to Earth. It's just in a different time though like in the 1800s or something. I wouldn't mind going there actually…" I trailed off. Who wouldn't want to miss a chance to meet the great Jack Sparrow in person and not just the one portrayed by Johnny Depp but the real Jack Sparrow? I certainly wouldn't mind. Elizabeth…not so much. She annoys me.

"I could take you there if you'd like…" he said thoughtfully. "But, we'd have to run it by the Superior first."

"Who cares about Mansex? I'd go even if he didn't say yes," I said stubbornly. I swear by anything sacred to me that I _will_ go to Port Royal and by god I was _not_ going to let anything stop me. That includes the idiot obsessed with darkness.

"What the, Mansex?" Axel was taken aback. I only stared in blatant shock. How can he not know? Oh this is priceless. I couldn't hold back anymore. I laughed and nearly fell off my bed in my mirth.

"You really don't know?" I said in between laughs and just laughed even harder. Axel just continued to stare at me. There's certainly a lot of staring isn't there? Hah.

"What's so funny? I don't see any reason to laugh," he said, grumpily crossing his arms because he didn't understand. He reminds me of a kid sometimes. I guess that's sort of one reason why I like him, even if he is a pain in the ass.

"Ok. Well first of all, I'd like you to rearrange the letters in the word 'Xemnas' for me, ok?" I said with a smirk. Axel raised an eyebrow.

"All right…Still don't see what's so funny though." He had a thoughtful expression and he began rearranging the letters in his head before comprehension spread across his face. His lips formed an "o" and he began laughing.

Grinning, I said, "Funny, right?"

He shook his head. "Geeze. I don't know where you come up with this stuff. That's pretty funny."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's not that hard to figure out. A lot of other people in my world all know that, rearranged, Xemnas spells Mansex." I vaguely wondered in the back of my mind if Nomura purposely made his name that way. It was just _begging_ for it to be made fun of and look at the monsters he's created. Coughfanscough. I nearly snickered at my thoughts, but brought myself back to the present. "Now, on to that going to Port Royal thing. Can we can we can we?!" I begged. He sighed then created one of those black portals of doom. I hate those things even if they don't make me sick anymore. I wondered why those portals were different from the ones in the game…In the game they made them seem like corridors…

"Ok, in you go," and with that, he shoved me into the portal. How rude! I flew through space until Axel came up behind me and grabbed onto my waist before I could be whisked away into some other dimension.

A bright light blinded my vision for a second as soon as the opening appeared and we were both thrown out of the portal. Axel landed lightly on his feet and dropped me on the hard, white tiled floor. "Ow," I murmured. Sitting up in a more comfortable position, I glared at Axel from my place on the ground and huffed angrily then heaved myself to my feet, no help from Axel of course. Bastard.

"Yes, what is it?" a deep voice drawled. I looked in the direction the sound came from and saw Xemnas sitting on what seemed like a type of white throne, like in the game, minus the multiple other thrones that stood 80 feet off the ground, propping up his head with his hand, looking very bored.

"I am asking permission to take Rilo to Port Royal," Axel announced. Xemnas sat up with an interested look on his face, placing his hand in his lap.

"Oh?" he questioned.

"Yes."

"And why might that be, VIII?" Xemnas inquired.

"I'm bored here. I need entertainment," I said. Or I'll prank everyone here, I thought inwardly. And as soon as I got back from Port Royal, that is exactly what I'm going to do. I mean it's so easy to. There are so many things here that I can do to the Organization. I was going to have a blast with this one. Of course, I want to visit Port Royal first. That is a must. I wonder I'll be able to meet Jack Sparrow. After all, in the second game, Sora and his friends meet Jack at the beginning and we Pirates of the Caribbean fans don't know what happened to Jack before that. Though, he might end up in Tortuga. He does like rum and there's plenty of it there. Either that or I can go meet Will. I _know_ he'll be there. Now that I think of it, I have a year before the second game starts because Sora will need to get his memories back.

"Fine," Xemnas said. "You may go. On one condition: We start your training when you come back. Is that clear?" he commanded.

I nodded. "Yes." Though I agreed to his proposal, I didn't understand what he meant. Training…training for what? And with what? I don't have any powers. My electric powers disappeared a little bit ago so he can't mean those, plus I don't think he knew I ever had them in the first place so that's out of the question. So then _what_? What power do I have? Suddenly it hit me. I was here, and I've been wanting to ask Xemnas about those purple swirls for a long time, so, I decided to voice my question.

"Xemnas, I have a question," I asked seriously this time. "I had a dream about killing the Keyblade bearer, Sora, and in my hand was some sort of purple swirl, and now lately I've been noticing that those purple swirls are popping up everywhere, be it decorations or a symbol on my door. I want to ask, what does this have to do with me?"

Xemnas raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You mean you haven't realized yet? I gave you that dream. Because of your being a human and your being in this castle, I have the ability to control what you dream, which are all unconscious thoughts and pictures from experiences you've had in the past, melded together, while you are unconscious. All I really needed to do was meld those thoughts and pictures in the right sequence to give you that dream. I gave it to you as a sort of hint. It is up to you to interpret it. Tell me, what do those swirls look like to you?" he asked me, trying to push me in the right direction. What direction, I had no idea. I gained a thoughtful expression and began pondering. Darkness? Impossible. Normal human beings can't control darkness, well except Riku, but he's not normal.

Axel just stood there with his arms folded across his chest, tapping his foot impatiently. When I still hadn't figured it out, he dropped his arms and groaned. "Don't tell me you haven't figured it out yet," he said. "I'd only heard about this just now and I figured out what it was right away," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I glared. "Well excuse me, but I'm not exactly fantastic at puzzles and riddles. I can barely do Sudoku!" I exclaimed. Geeze, it's like he expects me to be the smartest person in the world! News flash fire boy, I'M NOT!

Xemnas stood up immediately. "That is enough, VIII. We will let her figure it out for herself," he said, waving his hand towards me. Axel held a defiant look, but complied nonetheless. I took notice of how Xemnas didn't even seem to realize that Axel held a rebellious streak in him. In the end, it would be his downfall. If it weren't for Axel, Sora might not have been able to get to Xemnas and defeat him with all those Nobodies attacking him. I sighed inwardly, knowing Axel would eventually die because of his own stupidity of using his entire being to destroy those Nobodies.

Axel looked at me curiously but didn't question the look on my face. I wonder if he understood that some things were better left unsaid or felt it better not to ask him in front of his Superior.

"Well? Are you leaving or are you not?" Xemnas remarked.

I snapped out of my thoughts and replied, "Well duh. Anything to get out of here," I smirked.

Axel snapped his fingers and a black portal appeared out of nowhere, swirling wisps of darkness escaping from it. He dragged me into the portal and for once, this portal seemed to be the same as the ones in the game. As soon as the portal closed up behind us, I asked Axel, "Why is this portal like a hallway instead of a black hole?"

He walked beside me while I stared at the floating Nobody insignias that swam around the ceiling, if you could call it that. A mass of swirling colors made up the walls around us and I stared around in wonder. "It's because going to worlds and teleporting to different rooms in the castle are different things. Those small portals we were using use less energy than these. Going to different worlds takes a lot more out of us than you humans think."

"It never quite explained that in the game…I never knew you had to use up energy to get from place to place," I said thoughtfully. "I always thought you could make a portal and boom, end up in the place you wanted. Then again, I took everything for granted and this isn't the game. I guess things are a little different…"

He snorted. "Duh. Of course it's different."

"Yeah, in the game, you and Demyx never even talked to each other," I pointed out. He shrugged.

"The game misses things I guess. I don't know. I've never played it and I don't want to. Who really wants to know their future? A being who doesn't exist isn't supposed to _have_ a future," he said bitterly. He began striding ahead and I gave him a look of sympathy. I didn't know what it was like to be a Nobody, unfeeling and unexisting, but I pitied the Nobodies. I always have. They don't deserve the fate they've been given. I vaguely remembered a scene for Kingdom Hearts II, Saix reaching out to the giant heart in the sky, saying, "Kingdom Hearts…where is…_my_ heart…" Even the berserker wanted to be human. I clenched my shaking fists.

It was right then and there that I decided to do something about this. There had to be a way to make them all human. There just _had_ to be, besides collecting hearts for Kingdom Hearts because that obviously didn't work. But what did _I_ know about hearts? Absolutely nothing. Even Ansem the Wise hardly knew anything about hearts and he spent almost his whole life studying them and in the end, he died because he misjudged the power of hearts. If only there was a way…

Axel turned around and saw me staring at the ground with an angry expression. They don't deserve this, I kept thinking. Maybe Xemnas does for being an idiot, but everyone else…

"C'mon," Axel said. "Let's go." He took my hand and led me out of the portal to the world that I've been dreaming of going to for years, constant imaginings of coming here and meeting Jack Sparrow and Will Turner, all of those dreams, finally came true.

I was in Port Royal. And I was happier than any girl alive. I gasped in wonder at the 18th century style homes and shops and almost shouted with glee. Ignoring all of the hustle and bustle around me, I ran through Port Royal with Axel shouting after me. "HEY, COME BACK!" I ignored him and kept running until I saw the port, the beautiful ocean glistening in the bright sunlight. Steering away from the ships, I ran to the beach since it was fairly close by and the port was farther out in the ocean so the ships wouldn't be knocked over when a wave hit. As I reached the beach, I couldn't help but feel at peace.

A broad smile spread across my face and I twirled in happiness, giddy with excitement, then fell into the soft, white sand. The rolling waves barely reached my feet and I inhaled the sweet, salty air of the ocean. It reminded me of home. My hands dug into the sand as I inhaled the air deeply. I wanted it to linger, the scent, the sight, everything. This, to me, was paradise. Hearing footsteps behind me, I turned to see Axel keeled over with his hands on his knees, panting. Oops. I guess in my excitement, I ran so fast it wiped out Axel. Hah. That's not something you see everyday.

"What's the matter, Axel? Couldn't keep up?" I asked with a smirk. He glared and crossed his arms.

"You ran like a cheetah. How do you expect me to keep up with you?" I looked up at him in surprise. I ran that fast? Wait…maybe it's my power! But that has nothing to do with purple swirls…

He rolled his eyes, suspecting what I was thinking. "No, it's not your power. Not even close. Though where your burst of energy came from, I'll never know…" he muttered.

I playfully stuck out my tongue and went back to relaxing. The warm breeze whipped at my dark red hair, bringing with it the salty tang of the sea. I heaved myself to my feet and walked closer towards the water with Axel hanging back away from it. Staring behind me, I almost smacked my hand to my face at his stupidity. "You pussy, water isn't going to hurt you. If anything, you might get seaweed around your legs," I said.

He growled. "I _hate_ water. I don't know how much clearer I can make that point with you people." I raised an eyebrow.

"Then why do you and Demyx get along so well? You're polar opposites. Water and fire."

"What our elements are has nothing to do with how well we get along. As long as we don't use our powers on each other, we get along perfectly."

I shook my head and stared off at the sea with longing. I longed to be on one of those ships, having fantastic adventures with the great Captain Jack Sparrow. It was at that particular moment when a small ship, more like a boat with sails, began sailing towards the port. Looking for the familiar red bandana and dread locks, I stared intently at the one manning the helm, but, unfortunately, it was too far away to see straight.

Axel placed a hand on my shoulder and I looked at him in surprise. He gave me a kind smile, surprisingly, and said, "C'mon Rilo." I blinked.

"We're going already? But we just got here!" I exclaimed. NOOOO! I'M NOT LEAVING! HELL NO! I REFUSE! I promised myself I would see Jack Sparrow and by jelly I'm sticking by it!

He looked at me in surprise. "There's nothing for you to do here. Why _did_ you come here, anyway?" he asked.

"To see Jack Sparrow! Duh!" was my response. He scratched the back of his red mane of hair. I love his hair. Red _is_ one of my favorite colors.

"Can't you see him later?" he asked with a note of exasperation in his voice. I shook my head furiously.

"Uh-uh. No way," I said stubbornly.

He sighed then rolled his eyes. "Fine. But what are you going to do in the meantime?" he questioned.

I crossed my arms and tapped my foot in thought. Hm…What _should_ I do? Oh! I know! I'll go see Will!

"I'll go see Will!" I said aloud. Axel quirked an eyebrow.

"Huh? Who's he?" My expression turned into a smirk.

"Oh, someone," I responded vaguely, the smirk changing into a mischievous smile. I made a U-turn and started heading back towards the town, looking for the blacksmith shop with Axel following behind me.

Walking down the cobblestone streets, I looked left and right for any sign that was even remotely related to blacksmiths. I puffed out my cheeks in frustration when I hadn't seen a single sign that signified where Will Turner worked. Finally, I came across exactly what I was looking for. Yes! The blacksmith shop was right here! To think that Will and Jack hosted their epic sword battle right here in this very shop... I couldn't wait to meet Jack, but right now, I'll go see Will.

I cracked open the door and saw Will banging on what looked to be a new sword. With each blow, the red hot metal blew sparks in every direction, Will squinting his eyes so the sparks wouldn't burn them. Suddenly I had an idea... I looked behind me to make sure Axel was still there then entered the shop.

Will never noticed that I entered the room, concentrating more on melding the sword than anyone who was coming in. What I thought to be the owner was asleep on a large, wooden chair with his head lolling on his shoulder, a rum bottle clutched in his hand as he snored loudly. The dark haired boy continued on with his melding when I randomly shouted, "Wiiiiill! Jack's better than you!" With quick thinking, I ducked behind a few barrels that were conveniently placed close to the door. Axel ducked behind the door, though I don't know why.

He jumped a little then turned around to see nobody there. "Who said that?" Will called out. I jumped out of my hiding place, surprising Will, the grabbed Axel by the cloak and dragged him into the room.

"He did it!" I said. Poor Will looked so confused, it was actually pretty funny.

"Wait a minute, I didn't say _anything_!" Axel said indignantly.

"HE DID IT!" I shouted then ran away in a random direction, giggling madly to myself.

Ending up in an alley way, I leaned against the wall, still laughing at what happened. I didn't see Axel anywhere, so I wondered if I'd lost him somewhere. Panting, I wiped my forehead of the sweat that dotted my forehead.

Suddenly it seemed as if I wasn't alone anymore. A shiver went up my spine as I saw two drunken men heading my way. I backed away, trying my hardest to hide the fear in my eyes, and began casually walking away as if nothing was wrong, though my heart pounded madly.

A large, meaty hand landed on my shoulder and I could smell the putrid stench of liquor coating the man's breath.

"'Ello girly," the man sneered and the other one, a skinnier looking fellow, came up to me as well.

At that moment I knew I was in some deep shit.

* * *

Eryn: Yay! Done! Not as long as the last chapter but fairly long. Hope you enjoy it! Ciao my good friends. :D


	5. Yo ho ho and a bottle of darkness?

Eryn: Sorry if the last part of chapter 4 seemed a bit rushed. I wanted to get it out as soon as possible because I know my friend wanted to read it before she went to bed. xD If not for her, it might not have come out until later tonight. Now for some random news. I got to sing Phantom of the Opera for choir! :D Yay me! I love that song so much. I also love Choir. It's really fun. I think I've basically memorized every song I've sang this year. Lol. I also love the people. xD We're all such nerds. I think my entire circle of friends at school consists of band geeks and nerds. x3 I love them all though. On a small note, there is a very dirty line in this chapter, see if you can point it out. I know Rilo will. xP This is just to add a little bit more humor to the story, though I'm not sure it needs anymore, since you guys seem to think it's pretty funny anyway. xD

Raven06: Lmao. XD Yes Axel's Hips Don't Lie. And it's true! XD He has some really defined hips too. .. But in a really sexy way.. His body is so curvy. xD And I am too actually. I'm basically clueless about almost everything. Don't worry, there'll be a major twist. I'm actually thinking of doing a sequel to this one after Spirit of the Flame is finished. And yes it would! I cried when Axel died in the game. :( It was so sad. I almost cried when Demyx died too. And yes! XD Harassing Will is fun. Of course there's drunks wandering around. It's the Caribbean. At least she's not in Tortuga or it'd be worse. XP

ILoveRedHairYo: Yes it _is _quite sight isn't it? xD Whoops. XD Well, now you have a blue iPod nano! Lol.

jcola0823: XD Nice poem! You did better than I would have. It had AxelxRilo moments? o.o I didn't even notice those. xD I just type up whatever comes to mind then I completely forget all about it. And thank you! :D Nah I don't need to burn it. XD It's pretty good compared to what I'd end up thinking of on the spot.

NegativeCloud: Yessss. xD Torturing Axel is fun. And, you'll just have to see. Thanks very much! n.n

Well, now that's said and done, on with the fic!

* * *

Shit shit shit shit shit was all I could think of at the moment as the bulky man's rancid breath hit my nostrils. When he turned me around by the shoulders, this time, the fear was as plain on my face as a black dot against a white board. His face contorted into a giant menacing grin. He thought I was just some whore he could pick up off the streets. Well, I'll prove him wrong in a second!

I kicked him where it hurt most and he keeled over in pain, holding his most 'sacred' area, with both hands. Allowing a smirk to grace my lips, I took off in the opposite direction, listening to my heart race inside my chest. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, letting me at least attempt to put as much distance between me and those men as possible.

I cautiously took a glance backward and the color drained my face, my smirk disappearing. They were gaining on me. Fear only pumped out more of the adrenaline that I needed and I ran faster than I could ever remember going. Breathing in short, small gasps, I ran as if I'd never run before. I took a sharp turn to the left and cursed my bad luck at seeing a dead end. The entire wall in front of me was encased in gray stone with small crates lying in heaps in the corners, piles of hay spilling out of a few of them, blood staining the others. I figured they had contained chickens before, but I didn't dwell on that thought for very long. A low growl rumbled in the back of my throat.

"Figures!" I shouted in frustration. Glancing on either side of me, hoping for an escape, I found none. Back in my world, there would at least be some fire escapes, tall garbage cans to jump onto to get over the wall, but oh no. Not here. Dammit, why did I choose Port Royal when I _knew_ it was a dangerous world to be in?! I mentally cursed myself for my being dead set on seeing Jack Sparrow.

"Though' you coul' get away from us, eh poppet?" a deep voice rasped in pain. I turned around only to see the bulky man and his companion. Paling, I backed away as far as I could and found myself against the wall. I looked left and right again for any means of escape just incase I missed something in my frantic search and came up empty handed. This time I really _was_ screwed.

"Fuck…" I whispered. Both men grinned and came advancing towards me when a voice suddenly called out.

"Oi! You!" They turned around to stare at the person behind them. The voice sounded familiar but I couldn't remember where I heard it…

"What d'ya think yer doin' ta that poor lass, eh?" When the man stepped into view, my breath was caught in my chest and a broad smile spread over my face. Hell, my eyes practically sparkled.

Wearing that familiar black jacket, the man wore a red headband and other sorts of ornaments in his dreadlocks. His beard was braided into two strands with two colorful beads at the end of each one. Underneath his long jacket was a dirty white shirt that showed a good portion of his bare chest. He wore a mischievous smile as he stared at the two men standing in front of him. He was missing that cool looking hat that he always wore, but at the moment it didn't matter. The only thing that did was that I was saved.

Pulling out his pistol, he said darkly, "Ye'd be wise ta leave that gurl alone."

Both men looked at each other and took off running past him without a second thought, muttering dark curses at him. I almost fainted in relief. My savior laughed once, quietly to himself, then began strutting out of the alleyway.

Jack Sparrow… I snapped out my stupor and called out to him. "WAIT!" He turned around and gave me a questioning stare. "You're Jack Sparrow, aren't you," I said more as a statement than a question.

"_Captain_ Jack Sparrow," he replied. I stifled a grin. "Yer here ta thank me, am I right?" I nodded. He waved dismissedly at my thanks. "No need. Not too many wenches in this port. Didn't think you were one of them with the way you're dressed," he noted. I looked down at the clothes I was wearing. My ripped black shirt with purple fishnet sleeves down to my holey dark blue jeans and black and white converse looked _anything_ but inconspicuous. Those men probably didn't know what to think of me and so thought with their sex drives instead of their brains.

Jack gave a small grin at my expression as if he knew what I was thinking. "Ye'd be better off changin' outta them clothes, lass. I suppose you don' like attractin' attention, aye?"

I chuckled nervously. "Not really." Then, looking up at the pirate standing before me, I grinned widely. The happiness I felt just couldn't be contained any longer! How could it? How could anyone contain this feeling of such joy if they just met their favorite character of all time? Okay…So maybe Jack wasn't my ALL TIME favorite…Come to think of it, I don't think I even have one….Nonetheless, he's definitely up there on my character list of awesomeness. And yes, I did just make that up.

Okay, I just HAD to do this. It's now or never. And I choose NOW.

"Hey...Can I high-five you?" I asked, almost shyly.

Jack raised an eyebrow and looked at me with a queer, and perplexed expression…I vaguely wondered if people during this time new what a high five even was...Oh well! That just made me think. I could be the one who invented the whole high five thing! Cool!

"It's like a handshake, only you clap your hand against another person's hand," I explained, thrusting my thoughts aside.

The pirate captain never ceased to change his odd expression…I actually didn't know whether to feel embarrassed by this act, or confident with teaching him a new gesture.

I raised my hand at eye level and waited while Jack slowly inched his own hand up towards mine. I then pushed my hand against his and made a soft clapping noise. YES!! I did it! I actually high fived Jack Sparrow!! This should be written down in history! Take that fangirls! Whoo! I can now die happy with no regrets. Well…ok, maybe I wouldn't die happy. But who wouldn't be happy about this?

I squealed mentally to myself. Jack still looked at me oddly. "You are one, very strange gurl. An' I've met a lo' o' strange women in mah time."

I winked in a playful fashion. "Well, that's me for you. Being strange is fun!"

"RILO! WHEREVER THE HELL YOU ARE YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" a voice called. I paled, realizing that Axel must've had a hell of a time searching for me, and looked behind me in a startled like manner.

Jack, seeing my expression, smiled a bit, placing his hands on his hips. "Yer name is Rilo, eh? Good name, for a strong willed woman such as yerself."

I blushed at his praise and smiled shyly. "Now, ye'd better get goin' or that friend of yours could have us both hanged, savvy? It was nice ta meetcha, Rilo. Is there a last name to go with it?"

"Shadow. Rilo Shadow," I replied.

"RILO! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" Axel roared in fury.

"Oops, I better get going. It was nice meeting you, Jack Sparrow!" I called behind me as I ran towards a raging Axel.

"C_aptain_!" Jack hollered back in defiance. I beamed with pleasure at finally getting to meet the infamous Jack Sparrow. Of course, punishment from Axel isn't exactly appealing to me, but it's worth it. It is so worth it. As I ran out of the alley to meet up with Axel, again, I ran into those two creepy men.

I groaned out loud. "Aw dammit, not again! Don't you have other women to harass?" I growled.

The skinnier man replied, "Captain Barbossa wants to see you, miss. 'E says you have somethin' e' wants." The bulkier man grunted in affirmation. Wait a minute…those two look familiar…Ragetti and Pintel? But what would they want with me? I don't have anything of value!

"And what is it that I have that he wants?" I snarled. I had no time to be dealing with these two idiots! Dammit, Axel, get your ass over here!

"You'll just have to take it up with our captain, now won't you, miss Shadow?" said Pintel. Wait, how'd they know my last name?!

As if reading my mind Ragetti replied, "We were eavesdroppin' on ye and that stupid blighter Jack Sparrow. If it won't fer him, we'd a' had you at the Pearl by now."

I seethed in frustration. Axel, dammit, where are you?! I knew I wasn't going to outrun these two morons. Being pirates, they had stronger leg muscles than I did, constantly having to use them to man the deck and pillage and plunder, running about towns, causing havoc wherever they went, as was normal from a crew of the dead. Thankfully, even if they _were_ undead, it didn't mean they couldn't get hurt, as was demonstrated when I kicked Pintel in the balls. I smirked at that memory then brought myself back into the present.

Ok, screw it. I know it won't work, but it's worth a shot. Yes, I ran. And the two boys were right on my tail. "Get back here!" Pintel shouted.

"Right, as if I'm going to listen to you! Moron!" I cried back. As if on cue, I ran right into Axel.

"There you are!" he yelled. "Where the hell did yo—what the hell?" He raised an eyebrow at the two men chasing after me.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE, YOU IDIOT! HELP ME!"

He smirked. "I dunno, you seem to be handling it quite well, yourself. Plus, with that attitude, what makes you think I _want_ to?"

"BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT HERE TO RAPE ME, STUPID! THEY WANT TO TAKE ME TO CAPTAIN BARBOSSA!" Almost immediately, Axel was on the two men. I raised both eyebrows in surprise and stopped running so I could watch Axel.

He lifted them both up by the collar and shoved them against the nearest wall with his teeth bared. "And what would your _captain_ need of Rilo?" His whole attitude took me by complete surprise. Of course, I knew, Captain Barbossa was on the side of Maleficent, but that wasn't until later. So then why…? He couldn't have had a grudge against him because Axel didn't know him. Did he? Then again, what do I know? I only know of what happened during Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II. Nothing more…And it never mentioned Axel being affiliated with pirates.

"She has a power that he wants. He says she has the power to control darkness!" Pintel choked out. My eyes widened in utter shock. Darkness? Impossible! That's absurd! I couldn't possibly have that power. Did I just become some sort of Riku clone or something when I wasn't looking? Now I'm gonna feel like a Mary Sue…Wonderful. I inwardly cringed.

"You can tell him that there's no way Rilo could give up her powers even she wanted to. Now get out," he snarled. Axel released their collars roughly and the two pirates dropped into a heap on the ground. They got to their feet and both men took off running, again, in the opposite direction, Axel's eyes ablaze like green fire. I'd never seen Axel looks so angry before. I was almost afraid…Almost.

I tentatively reached my hand towards his shoulder. "Axel…?" I uttered his name timidly. When he turned around, I could barely recognize him. That immature grin and playful expression was replaced by something much more terrible. When he trained those cold, angry eyes on to me, I flinched and withdrew my hand. Now I really was scared. I could see my face reflected in his eyes. I looked about as terrified as a cornered mouse. No longer did I hold my brave exterior.

Axel softened when he saw how alarmed I was. I didn't know why he was angry, which is why I was afraid. I didn't think he'd hit me, but I didn't know what other off the wall things he would do to me in this state. He exhaled sharply and drew me into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "You shouldn't have had to see me like that."

I choked back a cry of surprise. The whole hugging thing seemed foreign to me, and saying sorry?! What, did someone replace Axel when I wasn't looking? "Rilo?" he said, almost as if he was afraid. Maybe afraid of my reaction?

"I'm not afraid of you, if that's what you're wondering," I mumbled.

His eyes hardened. "You should be. I'm a Nobody. A being with no heart is dangerous to anybody, even other Nobodies."

"That's funny, because I can hear your heart beating. Right now," I contradicted him. It was true. I _did_ hear his heart beating. Placing my ear to his chest, I could hear the soft thumping of his heart. Then suddenly, it stopped. Now all that was left was silence and the beating of my own heart, beating hard in my chest at the close proximity between the two of us.

"Your heart was beating just now. I don't know why, but it was. And now it stopped…" I said softly.

"That happens. It's only when Nobodies feel extreme emotion, like anger, the only emotion we _can_ feel," he said bitterly.

"Why _were_ you angry?" I asked, wriggling out of his grip. He almost looked dejected when I did that, but as quick as it appeared, it was gone, causing me to wonder if it was ever there at all.

"I'd rather not talk about it right now. Let's just say…Captain _Barbossa_ and I don't agree on a few things," he replied angrily. My curiosity overwhelmed me, but it was better not to press him when it seemed to be such a touchy subject. "To make a long story short, he tried to kill me and almost succeeded, too." I did a double take on that one. Wait a minute, WHAT?! After a comment like that, he expects me not to ask questions?! Screw that! I'm asking anyway! I was about to open my mouth, but he beat me to it.

He smiled wryly. "I suppose you'd like to know why? Too bad. As I said, it's not something I like to broadcast to everybody."

I bent my head in understanding, though I still wanted to know, so I pouted in a child like manner. Axel shook his head and took me by the hand. "Let's go, princess, I think you need to head back now. You've had your fun, time to go home."

Home…Was Castle Oblivion truly my home now? It seemed like it. Of course, I missed my parents' good cooking since the Nobodies can't seem to cook for their lives, except Zexion and Xaldin. Thank god Zexion stores _some_ sort of useful information, such as yummy dinner recipes, in that giant noggin of his. And with Xaldin being a total expert on cutlery, we're also covered there, too. Larxene occasionally keeps me company whenever we need to have some alone time. Hey, we girls need to stick together a'right?! She's the closest thing to a human girl back at home, so she's a temporary replacement for female friends. Then there's Demyx, my absolute awesome buddy. Luxord, someone I can gamble with, as if I have anything to gamble with anyway, so we just play cards. It's rather fun, even if he _does _kick my ass every time. I occasionally visit Marluxia, because he has some pretty flowers. Vexen I steer clear from, Saix I never see, and the same goes for Xemnas. Lexaeus is hardly ever around, always going on missions for the boss. Xigbar I rarely see either, though I am in love with his accent. Then, of course, Axel, my own personal body guard. Going through all the Organization members in my head made me wonder when Roxas was coming along. I figured it'd be sometime during Chain of Memories, but I wasn't quite sure.

Axel snapped his fingers in front of my face again. "Huh?" was my smart reply. His eye twitched.

"You spaced out again. What were you thinking of?" he asked curiously.

"Oh. Pondering on how homelike Castle Oblivion seems to me now. And I was thinking ab—no. I can't tell you that. Too much information." Both eyebrows went up.

"What's too much information? Is it another one of those future things?"

I nodded. "Yes." Suddenly I felt something bite the back of my neck. I yelped in surprise. "Ow, what the?!" My hand went to my neck to rub the bite and I pulled off a small, black bug. What caught my notice, however, was the fact that the bottom side of the bug had a very bright red mark on its belly. The heartless insignia... My eyes widened in horror. Feeling the back of my neck, I felt a sticky liquid slide over my hand. When I pulled it back, it was purple. It reminded me of blood, only this was thicker. It frothed and bubbled in my hand. I felt like I was about to be sick.

"Axel…" I said nervously, "I think we have a problem." Axel trained his eyes on the sticky goo in my hand then looked to the heartless type bug, and an alarmed look came into his face which only terrified me even more. And I swear to god! This thing is no bigger than a fly! Must've been someone with a very small amount of darkness in their heart. Unless it was made purposely for this reason…

"Oh shit," he said. Pain coursed through my neck and right down to my toes. I doubled over in pain and nearly gasped aloud. Eyes scrunched in agony, I gritted my teeth and tried not to think about the pain. It centered around my chest and it felt like something was eating at my heart. I clawed at my chest with my left hand and gripped the material of

"Rilo?" Axel said worriedly. He bent down to my level and took me by the shoulders. "Rilo!" he cried louder. I wouldn't respond. The pain was too much for me to bear. Eyes glazed over, I fell limp in his arms. The last thing I heard was Axel crying my name…Then everything went black.

I woke up to find myself in a purple corridor, lying on my side. I sat up and stared around me, drowsily. "Ugh, where am I?" my voice echoed. Everywhere I looked, it was purple. A dark purple, but it was purple. Purple purple purple! WHY IS EVERYTHING PURPLE! Why can't it be green?! Green's a pretty color...

Anyway, moving on. I got to my feet and started walking down hallway after hallway. It seemed never ending. Everywhere I turned was a purple hallway, and sometimes it would lead to a dead end. This maze had me puzzled. Why is it here? Where _was_ here? There were a lot of questions I wanted answered, but where I'd get my answers I didn't know.

My feet moved of their own accord as I tried to find a way out of this weird place. The constant purple was beginning to give me a headache... Then I thought of an old trick that used to get me out of big mazes like this. Placing one hand on the right side of the wall, I trailed my hand along it and began moving through multiple hallways without once reaching a dead end.

It felt like I wandered around this confusing maze for hours when I finally came upon a white door. Guess my method worked after all. A soft, white glow escaped the cracks and filtered in under the door. Finally, I was getting somewhere. I tentatively reached for the round, brass handle. As soon as my hand touched the door, it swung open for me, blinding me with that bright light that I'd seen from under the door. Holding up an arm to cast a shadow over my eyes so I could see, I slowly moved forward. The blast of light was so powerful it seemed like it was pushing me back. But me, being as stubborn as I am, refused to give up and walked as far as I could, when the light suddenly receded.

The room reminded me of the one where I'd shortly received my electric powers. The only difference was the color. It was purple, like everything else around here. In the center stood a, you guessed it, purple glowing orb with wisps of darkness flitting about inside of it. Suddenly it felt like déjà vu.

Almost as if spellbound, I walked closer to the floating, purple orb in the middle of the room. My body moved on its own and I began getting closer to the dark orb floating in front of me. As if in a trance, I reached out to touch the orb. When I finally did, a bright blast of purple filled the room and almost swept me off my feet, but it seemed as if my hand was glued to the orb. Forcefully moving my hand through the pressure that centered the orb, I gripped the arm glued to the orb with my hand should I ever have to try to remove it, though it seemed like it'd be impossible anyway. Unlike the electric orb I'd seen before, this one sent a warm, relaxing sensation through my body which embraced the feeling as if it were an old friend. The power I'd received before seemed more foreign, as if it shouldn't be there. This one filled me to the core, without my body rejecting the power that coursed through my fingers.

As soon as it came, it disappeared, leaving me exhausted, but surprisingly full, as if before, my body was missing something and now this newfound power relinquished that void. I walked shakily out of the room, then turned back only to see the orb had disappeared, quite unlike the blue one. I decided not to dwell on this fact too much and left the room.

Soon as I left, I found myself dazed in Axel's arms, his head bent over me with his eyebrows creased in terrible worry. I groaned and passed a hand over my face to knock me out of this annoying stupor. Axel breathed a sigh of relief then glared at me angrily.

"What the hell happened to you?" he said furiously, as if trying to hide how worried he was. I grinned. His hard stare only deepened.

"Aww, you were worried," I said a bit groggily. "No need to fret, my pyro friend, I am perfectly—YOW!"

Pain coursed through my neck again, but this time it felt as if something were being flushed out of me, something that shouldn't be there. My hand immediately went to the wound on my neck and I found more of that sticky goo from before, only now it was beginning to disappear, much like a heartless does when it's destroyed. Bringing my hand back in front of me, the goo clung to my fingers like syrup, and like the rest of it, slowly began to disappear until there was nothing left of it. Checking my neck again, I found no goo, and the hole in my neck had been resealed.

"Well, what do ya know... I feel better now," I said in surprise. Axel didn't seem so sure and hauled me to my feet.

"I think we should go see the Superior now. And while we do, perhaps you can explain what happened to you?" he said in more of a demanding tone.

"Well, I found myself in a purple corridor, went through some sort of maze, found a white door, opened it, and touched a purple orb that was in the middle of the room," I explained briefly, skipping all the minor details.

Axel furrowed his brows in thought and crossed his arms. "Hm... I think where you were was inside your heart. Inside every human being, there is a specific sort of power they possess. It may be powerful, it may be weak and practically useless. Everyone's different. You are a special case. You control darkness, or shadows, to be more precise. You have great power, more so than most people in your world, which is why we took a special interest in you. Nobodies can sense what kind of power humans possess, though it's hard to explain how. We just know. We didn't take you earlier because we wanted your powers to progress more so we could eventually unlock them for you. I didn't expect a heartless to bite you and you unintentionally unlocked your powers yourself. It might've been a bit too early, so it will take longer for you to gain control over them, but eventually you will become very powerful, even more powerful than some of Organization XIII. But I think that's a _long_ ways away, yet," Axel explained with a smirk. "You were supposed to figure out your power yourself, but obviously that didn't happen because of those stupid _pirates_." So Axel's grudge went far beyond just Barbossa, he didn't trust _any_ pirate. He'd probably get mad if he knew that Jack Sparrow was a pirate.

Getting back to the matter of my powers, I gained an awed expression. So it _was_ true. I didn't believe it at first, I just thought it was some sort of fairy tale explanation was to why Barbossa wanted to capture me, but it was true. I really had the power of darkness.

As if to test out my powers, I raised my hand to eye level with my palm facing outward. Imitating what's been done in cartoons and movies, I closed my eyes and concentrated on that part of my body, forcing my heart and soul into that one area. Just to take a small peek, I opened one my eyes a crack and gasped in delight. It was small, but there was a little purple glowing ball, about the size of the fly, floating in my palm, with black static crackling around it.

"Cool!" I exclaimed. Axel only shook his head.

* * *

"Ok, princess, _now_ it's time to go," he said and opened a portal for me then off we went back to Castle Oblivion.

Eryn: Pshaw. x3 This was a fun chapter to write. And for those of you who were looking for a tad bit of romance, well, there's your little dose. ;D Nothing will develop too far right now though, so don't get your hopes up just yet. Well hope you enjoyed it. Now, reviews would be nice, please. :3


End file.
